Family reunited with cat found 1,500 miles away

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – After several tearful weeks, a Sacramento family was reunited with their beloved cat Penny, who went missing during a cross-country trip earlier this year.

"It's just been a roller coaster. I mean, ups and downs, and you know, it's just been crazy," Cherrell Bishop told KTXL.

It's been a roller coaster to say the least for the 5-year-old feline, her owner and her caretaker these last few weeks.

"It's been a long road, but I'm happy to see the way it ended," said Elizabeth Givens, a Yukon, Oklahoma, resident who has been taking care of Penny.

So just how did Penny finally end up back in her owners arms Thursday? In March, Bishop lost Penny near the Oklahoma-Missouri border. About a month later, Penny actually showed up at the Givens residence, some 200 miles from the spot Penny first went missing.

Givens called the phone number on Penny's tag, and then set up a GoFundMe account to get Penny back in Bishop's arms.

"I know she's got a lot of stuff to say. Adventures, the way she got here," Bishop said.

"I don't think I can quit smiling, watching the kids' faces and her face. It's just exciting to see it end this way," Givens said.

Since KTXL's original story aired on Monday, the GoFundMe account raised more than double what they were asking for. The money paid for Penny and Givens' trip from Oklahoma City on Thursday to Sacramento.

"She has been so good. Not a peep out of her," Givens said.

And Givens had one more surprise at Thursday's reunion -- a gift card with some of the extra money from the GoFundMe account, so Penny can have some things to welcome her back home.

"I just want to say thank you. I just appreciate everything you all have done for me. It's like my heart is not broken anymore," Bishop said.